Just like any athlete, Kevin Nickel knows he must put in the training before realizing the fruits of his labor in competition.

Harold Bechard - The Hutchinson News - hbechard@hutchnews.com

Sunday

Apr 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 27, 2008 at 6:00 PM

Of course, most athletes don't spend 20 or more hours a week riding a bike more than 200 miles, running 25 to 30 miles and swimming 15,000 meters.

But the 27-year-old native of Goessel isn't an ordinary athlete.

The 5-foot-11, 145-pound Nickel is quickly becoming one of the top triathletes in the Midwest and is determined to one day compete in the granddaddy of all triathlons - the World Triathlon Championship (also called the Ironman Triathlon) in Hawaii.

"I have been thinking about it so long, that it doesn't intimidate me," said Nickel, who lives near Newton. "It's a different type of training and a different breed of athlete to move on to that level. And you kind of have to really commit to it."

Eight days ago, Nickel started the 2008 season in Emporia with a first-place finish among 106 male competitors in the Spring Migration Triathlon. The competition consisted of a 400-meter swim, 12.4-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run.

"A good way to start the season," said Nickel, who has spent the last year working at Pinnacle Sports Performance in Hutchinson as an exercise physiologist.

Nickel participated in cross country and track at Goessel High School before graduating in 1999. He did the same at Tabor College where he graduated in 2003. He spent two years at the University of Oklahoma working on his masters before moving to Seattle with his wife, Yvette, to do one year of voluntary service for a non-profit gym.

"I didn't have a lot of opportunities early on, but kind of got an inkling that once I graduated, this would be the direction I would take," he said of competing in triathlons. "I had done some biking and swimming on

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